Salesforce is noticing a surge in productivity thanks to AI. The company won’t even start hiring new engineers this year.
Salesforce is turning its AI investments into savings. CEO Marc Benioff announced the company is not hiring any new engineers this year, thanks to a 30 percent increase in productivity from AI coding tools.
AI replaces additional engineers
While announcing disappointing Q4 results, Benioff emphasized how AI increases efficiency. “We’re seeing tremendous progress with our high-performance coding tools. It’s great. We’re not hiring any new engineers this year,” he said. Stock market results were also disappointing to say the least.
Salesforce posted Q4 revenue of $9.99 billion, up 8 percent year over year, with net profit of $1.7 billion. Still, revenue remained below the expected $10.04 billion, and the forecast for fiscal 2026 ($40.5 – $40.9 billion) is also lower than the $41.35 billion analysts were counting on.
Agentforce has yet to grow
CFO Amy Weaver pointed to the early adoption phase of Agentforce, Salesforce’s AI tool for employees and customers. “We are seeing strong customer interest, but the rollout is still for everyone. For 2026, we expect a modest contribution to revenue, with more impact in 2027,” she said.
In addition to AI adoption, exchange rates and changes in business strategy played a role in the lower outlook. According to Gartner, companies continue to invest in AI, although ambitious projects disappear after high failure rates in 2024.